This invention relates to an athletic cup. More specifically, this invention relates to a multi-part, molded athletic cup with regions of flexure to enhance wearing comfort.
Devices for the protection of the male groin region are extensively utilized in athletics. In athletic competition, particularly body contact sports such as football, baseball, hockey, soccer and the like, protective devices are worn by the players to avoid injury due to inadvertent blows to the groin area. The most common protective device includes a rigid cup supported by a fabric athletic supporter or compression shorts. Protective cups of this character are usually formed from a plastic material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, which is sufficiently rigid to retain its shape even when struck a relatively severe blow.
Historically, protective cups have been provided with a resilient padding around their periphery both for the comfort of the wearer and, in some measure, to absorb the impact of a blow to the cup. The resilient padding is usually formed from a soft, flexible foam-like material, such as foam rubber or polyurethane foam, and is usually provided in the form of a limited elongated strip manually attached to the peripheral edge of the cup with the aid of an adhesive. Such conventionally padded cups suffer a number of disadvantages and limitations. For instance, the pad attachment procedure is both time consuming and costly, and the bond between the padding and the protective cup is often deficient. Separation of the padding and the protective cup typically occurs during repeated use of the protector when the padding is peeling away from the restricted area of attachment to the cup. Furthermore, such known structures, in view of the restricted extent of the padding, offer only limited impact absorption protection. Consequently, upon impact a significant portion of the blow is transferred to the body of the wearer. Examples of athletic protector cups incorporating such conventional peripheral padding are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,283,684; 3,782,375; 4,453,541 and 4,134,400.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,414 discloses an athletic protector cup having a resilient peripheral binding molded to a peripheral cup flange. The molded binding structure disclosed in this patent provides some benefits vis-à-vis the aforementioned conventional padded cup structures. For instance, molding provides a more efficient and cost-effective means of attachment than a conventional adhesive foam strip. Furthermore, the disclosed binding is contoured to have a relatively thick outwardly-extending body portion for providing improved comfort to the wearer and improved impact absorption. However, the athletic cup structure disclosed in this patent has some significant drawbacks and limitations. For instance, to prevent separation of the molded binding from the cup over time, the cup must be manufactured having a series of perforations along the flange. In other words, to achieve adequate attachment of the binding to the cup flange, the binding material is required to flow through relatively small perforations during assembly. This is necessary to provide interlocks integrally connecting the portions of the binding lying on opposite sides of the flange. Furthermore, the relative increase in impact resistance provided by the disclosed flange geometry leaves significant room for improvement. This is because only a limited area of hard-shell is covered by soft binding. Additionally, the disclosed binding surface geometry of the outwardly extending body portion includes sharp edges which could result in chafing during frictional contact with the wearer's body.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,219 solves some of the foregoing shortcomings of the prior art by providing a hard-shell base cup overmolded exteriorly with a resilient material to cushion the marginal edges of the cup itself. The exterior layer wraps around the edges of the base cup to form an interlocking lip to capture the base cup and may project outwardly on the longitudinal sides of the cup to form cushioning side flanges to contact the user's body.
In spite of the past efforts to achieve a more comfortable athletic protector by providing cushioning material to the cup margins, the prior art devices remain characterized as irritating, chafing, ill fitting, and limiting to the body's natural range of motions in the lower groin area. It is believed that the design flaws inherent in the prior art devices which result in irritation, chafing, discomfort and range of motion limitation are caused by lack of longitudinal and lateral flexure of the protector, particularly in the lower groin area.
Therefore, a need remains in the field of competitive sports for a more comfortable, less irritating athletic cup which permits greater flexibility and range of motion for the user engaged in contact sports activities that require running, jogging, cross-over leg movements, bending and squatting. The primary objective of this invention is to meet this need.